In the Labyrinth

Hannah Comes Home and I Encounter Svetla Dorosheva

I received my reversion of rights letter on Saturday for my young adult novel Hannah's Garden and am now very excited. I have sent to this place, to have the novel returned into a file that I use to upload to an e-reader. I am also working with a couple of local artists to get the cover designed and I hope a few small interior bits and pieces, such as chapter headings.

In the meantime, do enjoy more from the artist whose work is included here, Svetla Dorosheva. Her work is so fabulous -- combining the calligrahper's steady hand with the sensual lines of a Beardsley, the rich elaboration of an Adrienne Ségur and the delicacy in her children's drawings of a Marja Lee Kruyt. Yeah...that good. Have a look at the collection of Weird and Wonderful Fairy Tale Illustrations and What is Man? I realize I have only used the black and sepia drawings -- but her color work is lovely. Have a look at The Former Lives of Flowers.

Guest Appearance at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles' Fairytale Reflections: The Monkey Girl

I would like to thank Katherine Langrish, young adult author and literature blogger supreme (Seven Miles of Steel Thistles), for inviting me to participate in her Fairytale Reflections Series -- a collection of wonderful posts on fantasy authors, their work, and then a short essay by the authors on their favorite fairy tales. It's a terrific collection of around 20 authors (and still growing).

The post on me includes a description of my most recent novel with Jane Yolen, Except the Queen, for adults, and my young adult novel Hannah's Garden, for teen readers, and my fairytale reflection is from my essay on the Monkey Girl, originally published in Kate Bernheimer's anthology, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Women Writers Discuss Their Favorite Fairy Tales (2002).

Katherine's blog is really a wonderful place for book reviews, interviews, and informative articles on fairy tales, commentary on childrens' literature, a glimpse at the classics, and a nod to the newcomers in the field. And it's a flat out beautiful blog. Go on indulge yourself. Here's three to get you started: Riddles, Poems, Oracles, Otherworlds, and Fairytale Heroines.